THE CABIN
by ytilaturb
Summary: Weekend away should have been nice, they were wrong.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, this has been floating around in my head for quite sometime now. No specific character pairings.**

* * *

If you were to tell Josh Nichols that he and his girlfriend of four years would be over in a flash, he wouldn't have believed you. But that's exactly what had happened. He thought that he would have been with Mindy for the rest of his life but after being apart Senior year in high school, they decided that it wouldn't work.

They were both 20, and he decided to go to a party before their date, just to hang out with some friends and he lost track of time. He was already drunk and left his phone in his car. He couldn't remember what the hell had happened but all he knew was that his girlfriend was standing right in front of him, tears streaming from her eyes, and another girl, giggling at him. He pushed the girl away and stood up. He watched his girlfriend rush out and he was right behind her.

"Jacelyn! Baby, please wait,"

"Fuck off!"

When she got to her car, he wrapped his arms around her, preventing her from opening her car.

"Let me go, Josh,"

"No, please talk to me,"

"Josh, I'll scream,"

He instantly let go and watched her get in her car. He rushed to his car and followed her to their apartment and ran though the building. When he unlocked the door, he was greeted with a high heel being thrown at him.

"Get the fuck out!" She yelled at him

"Baby, please,"

"What did I do?" She asked him with a picture of the two of them. "Four fucking years and this is what I get?"

She threw the picture on the ground and stormed off to the room. He followed her and saw her pulling out all his things and throwing them on the floor.

"We're done," she said, facing him with tears.

"Wh- what?"

"You can get your stuff tomorrow,"

"Jacelyn,"

"Josh, please, just get out,"

XX

_Two years later, Graduation._

Josh walked up to his crying mother and laughed.

"Mom, I just graduated college," he smiled at her, his green eyes, back to the bright color they used to be.

"I know, I'm just so proud of you," she smiled back at him. "You're father would be proud too,"

"I know, mom," he smiled and gave her a hug.

"Have you spoken to Jacelyn?"

"No," he shook his head. "You can go talk to her,"

She kissed him on the cheek and walked over to Jacelyn. He removed his robe and walked over to an empty seat. A group of friends had walked over to him. He began talking to his friends, hearing about summer plans and suddenly, his mother walked to him again.

"Look who I ran into, son," she smiled at him. "Boys, Josh will speak to you all in a moment,"

"Yes, Momma Nichols," they all mumbled and walked away with her.

Jacelyn smiled and shook her head. She already had her robe off and time stood still while he looked at her. She was still beautiful as ever and the dress she was wearing, hugged her in all the right places.

"Congratulation, Josh,"

"Yeah, you too,"

"Any plans for the summer?"

"Uh, I'm actually gonna live with my mom for a while," he said to her.

"I heard about your dad," she said, "I'm sorry,"

"Why?" He asked her, "It's not like he raised a good man or anything,"

"Josh,"

But before he could say anything, his mother had come back.

"Jacelyn would you like to join us for dinner?"

"I have plans with my parents tonight, actually, but thank you," she looked at her wrist with no watch and looked back at her ex boyfriend. "Actually, I should probably go find them,"

And without a good bye she left. After telling his mom that he promised to meet her at home, he decided to go for a drive. When he finally stopped, he saw Jacelyn standing by a familiar tree.

"What are you doing here?" He asked her.

"It's another big event," she told him.

"I'm not in-"

"A picture taking mood?" She finished for him. "You always say that,"

He gave her a sad smile and walked over to her. He stood next to her and let her take the picture.

"At least pretend to look happy,"

"I should go," he said, avoiding her statement.

"Josh," she called to him. He turned and looked at her. "Can I at least have a hug?"

"I don't trust myself,"

XX

After dinner, he decided to go to a party. He didn't know that Jacelyn would be there so to actually see her, was a surprise to him.

"Hey," she smiled at him.

"Sorry about earlier,"

"It's okay,"

"Seeing you, and talking to you..." he trailed off, "I need a drink,"

She smiled and shook her head.

A few hours later, Jacelyn was looking around for her friend and saw that she was passed out in a room. She looked at her phone and saw that he battery was completely dead. She looked around some more and saw that Josh was still there.

"Josh,"

"Hey,"

"So, my ride, is passed out,"

"Same apartment?" He asked her.

"Yep,"

XX

When they got to her apartment, she realized that she had someone of his that he had forgotten when he moved out. He was waiting for her to get it and when she brought it out to him.

"Thanks,"

After she watched the door shut, she ran to open it again and was greeted with a deep kiss from Josh. He kicked her door shut and they stumbled back to her bedroom, their old bedroom, and Jacelyn fumbled with the button on his jeans. When she finally popped the button, she felt his hands go to the zipper on the back of her dress. He pulled it down and let her dress fall to the floor. He picked her up, and he felt her legs automatically wrap around his waist. He climbed onto the bed on his knees and lowered them. He kicked off his shoes and she broke the kiss to remove his shirt. It got stuck and all that was showing was his mouth. They both laughed and she finally pulled his shirt off.

"Are you okay with this?" He asked her.

"Just kiss me," she whispered.

When they were completely stripped, he let her straddle his lap, like she always did and make love that way. There was a different feeling, physically, and emotionally for him. His arms were always wrapped around her small frame, holding her close. It was a different kind of closeness that he missed. He missed the way her body arched into his, the way her breath barely hit his ear, and the way it made his shiver. And God, there was something about how it felt for him when that orgasm rushed through her body. He felt every inch of it and it just rocked his own orgasm.

Spent, he just held her, knowing that any minute she could tell him to get lost. She looked at him and kissed him. She moved off him and lay beside him and he just watched her fall asleep. She she woke up, she looked at the body that was next to her and she sighed. She saw him move and she shut her eyes again. She felt him move more next to her and felt his hands roam her naked body. He pulled the sheet back and fluttered soft kisses all over. She groaned.

"Okay, I'm awake,"

"I should probably head out soon,"

Suddenly, she looked at him and burst into ash and he woke up, sweating. He didn't understand why he kept having that dream. Hell, they didn't even sleep together. He just took her home after that party and when back to his moms house. And that was seven months ago.

He was currently packing up some clothes for the weekend. He and his mother moved to a smaller place because she couldn't afford to keep their house. He was going away with his friend, Carly, his step brother, Drake and a friend. He wanted to have a good little vacation before he had to start his new job. He looked at the God awful box with Jacelyn's face in it and pushed it in his closet.

XX

"I'm telling you, Jace, you're gonna love him," Carly said, "he's totally chill,"

"Carly, stop trying to hook me up, I'm just tagging along because I wanna have fun this weekend,"

"Yeah," Drake, Carly's boyfriend said to her, "quit playing Cupid,"

"Whatever," she scoffed. "It's a right, right here,"

Drake already knew that too. He was tapping his hand on the steering wheel, nervously. He knew that the person who was tagging along, was his step brother Josh. Carly and Josh had become closer after the break up. Drake didn't have the heart to tell his girlfriend that her best friend was Josh's ex.

Carly pulled out her phone and called her friend.

"Hey, we're outside," she said, "okay, bye,"

It was raining, unusual for December, and they pulled up right as he got outside. When Josh opened the door and saw Jacelyn, they were both speechless.

"Uh, Drake, can you come help me find something?" Josh asked.

"It's raining,"

"I don't care,"

He groaned and got out of the car and he pulled him though the building hallway and around the corner. He glared at his brother.

"Oh, you have a little bit of dried drool on your face," he said, licking his thumb and reaching towards Josh's face.

"Don't touch me," he said smacking his hand away, "why didn't you tell me that Jacelyn was coming?"

Drake was hesitant at first, "Jacelyn and Carly are friends,"

"How long have they been friends for?"

Drake's scrunched his face a little in a cringe.

"Every day after we broke up I had been going to your place to get away from my thoughts," Josh stated, "and not once did you think to tell me that they were friends?" He asked, raising his voice slightly.

"I don't want Carly to hate you,"

"Why would that matter?"

"Because I can't have my fiance hating my best man,"

"Wait, what?"

"I'm gonna propose to her this weekend," Drake said to him.

Suddenly, Josh's features softened.

"Really? That's so great- don't think you're gonna get away with this," he snapped back.

"Josh," he said, "I'll tell her when we get there,"

"Yeah, lets have her hate me all weekend,"

XX

Josh had his headphones in and was just watching the scenery fly by through the closed window. They were going to a cabin of his aunt and uncle's in the woods of Colorado. He really wanted to go because he used to have a lot of fun there and also, he knew that his uncle had done a lot of work on it over the years and it was all different. He was actually looking forward to seeing it. Although with Jacelyn around, he figured it would be a little weird. Especially since there was only two bedrooms in the cabin, and he knew that Carly and Drake would be in the master. He had a feeling he would be on the air mattress in the living room.

When they finally got to the cabin, snow was covering everything. Josh got out and smiled. He walked through the snow and to the front door, looked through the windows and sighed.

"Hurry up! I wanna see inside already,"

"Come help with all this stuff first," Carly called back to him.

He rolled his eyes and stomped through the snow that went up to his knees, and grabbed his bag and Jacelyn's bag. After he stomped through the snow a forth time back to the car, he watched Jacelyn try to make it through the snow. He smirked and walked over to her right as she fell.

"You need help?" He asked her with a chuckle.

"Yeah," she laughed.

He held out his hand and helped her up when she grabbed a hold of it.

"Now my jeans are all wet," she whined.

"Change them when you get in, you'll get sick,"

She nodded and tried to take another step and almost fell. He shook his head and stood in front of her.

"Hop on," he said to her.

"Are you serious?"

"Jace, do you wanna fall every step of the way until you get inside?"

She rolled her eyes, "Fine,"

She hopped onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck. He walked through the show and finally got to the steps and let her hop off. And when she did, she slipped on some ice and fell right into him causing him to fall as well. Next thing they knew they were both on the porch, laughing.

"What the hell are you guys doing?" Carly asked them.

"Nothing," Josh laughed.

Carly helped Jacelyn up and then her cousin.

"Uh, there's a problem with the sleeping arrangements,"

"No," he said shaking his head, "I was gonna give Jace the bedroom and sleep in the living room on the air mattress,"

"Yeah, about that,"

XX

"Fuck," he said, "why the fuck does it always happen to me?" Josh asked out loud.

"It's not so bad," Carly reasoned with him.

"Yeah, this is coming from the person who get's to sleep in the room with a fucking hot tub for a bathtub,"

"It's my cabin!"

"Bull shit! It's still in mommy and daddy's name," he snarked, walking back outside while she stormed to her room and slammed the door.

"Well I'm gonna go change," Jacelyn smiled briefly at Drake.

"I'm gonna get firewood," he nodded.

"Oh yeah, Drake?" Carly called to him, "We need to talk when you get back,"

When Jacelyn was into some warmer clothes and boots, she grabbed her camera and walked outside. She had never been in the snow before, at least not as deep as it was. She saw Josh smoking and she took her chance to take a picture. She knew he heard the click because he looked.

"Jacey!" He whined, "You know I don't like my picture taken,"

"Why was it always a hassle to get a picture of you,"

He just shook his head. She walked over to him, looked at him and waited for an answer.

"Everytime someone takes a picture of me, they take a little bit of my soul," he said, nodding.

Jacelyn laughed, "Okay,"

"I just don't really like taking pictures anymore, that's all,"

"You're face should be in photographs," she said to him.

"Please,"

"No, I'm serious," she said, "I actually still have all our pictures,"

"Liar," he smirked.

"Hey, you were my first," she said, "you were my first everything actually, well, except my first kiss,"

"You were mine too,"

She nodded slightly. Suddenly, he grabbed her hand and pulled her away from he porch.

"Josh, where are we going?"

"I wanna show you something," he smiled at her. "But you have to close your eyes when I say,"

She took pictures along the way, making sure she got everything. And when she turned her camera, she saw Josh in he frame, smiling at her.

"Okay close them,"

There was a sparkle in his green eyes that she only saw when he was excited about something. She closed her eyes, sighed and let him grab her hand. Suddenly she felt him stop her and it was all silent.

"You can open them now,"

When she opened them, she was amazed at what she saw. There were tons of trees with icicles hanging from every branch. The way the sun hit them, they all sparkled. Snow everywhere and dead center of the whole scene, were mountains.

"Oh my God," she whispered. "Josh,"

"This was where my dad and I came every summer,"

"You didn't have to show this to me,"

She looked at him as he walked around, looking at everything. And suddenly, he sat down on a snowless tree trunk. She walked over to him and sat down next to him.

"This is the first time I think I've actually felt something since my dad died," he said softly.

"People grieve the differently,"

"I'm glad he's gone though," he said, "like I'm not sad or anything. Is that bad?"

"No," she said to him.

"Let's take a picture," he smiled at her.

"Really?"

"Yeah,"

He grabbed her camera and set it up on a rock right in front of them. He set the timer and wrapped an arm around her right before the click and the flash. After about an hour they started to head back, but Jacelyn felt like someone else was around. She felt someone watching them. She grabbed his hand and he saw her look around.

"What?"

"I hear something," she said.

"We're in the wilderness, we're gonna hear a lot of stuff,"

She walked closer to him and they finished their walk back.

XX

Later than night, they were in the living room, drinking by the fire, laughing and joking.

"I'm serious, that's what happened," Carly said.

"No, that's not what happened at all," Josh laughed.

"Whatever," she scoffed.

He smirked at her and took a drink.

"Drake, remember that time we got stuck in that tree house?"

"Megan," Drake hissed.

"Wait," Jacelyn said, "when was this?"

"High school," Josh said, "it's a long story,"

An hour later, it was just Josh and Jacelyn in the living room. They were talking about old times mostly and laughing.

"I am sorry, by the way," he said to her.

"It's in the past," she said, "I'm gonna head to bed,"

He nodded and watched her walk away. He sighed, got up and walked into the kitchen. After finishing his drink, he just so happened to look out the kitchen window and saw a hooded figure standing off in the distance. He reached over and shut the blinds and checked the doors and other windows. He walked down the hall and knocked on Jacelyn's door. She opened it and let him in.

"I just wanna make sure the windows locked,"

He made sure that it was locked, said good night, and walked out. The next morning, he woke up, completely frozen. He was so cold. He looked out the window and saw that there was more snow on the ground. Jacelyn woke up and walked out of her room shortly after.

"Put some clothes on," she told him, "you'll catch a cold,"

He looked back at her, remembering how he loved the way she looked in the morning and she gasped.

"Josh your lips are blue," she said, walking over to him. She felt his face and shook her head. "Go sit down,"

She ran to get the electric blanket and she turned it on and wrapped it around his shirtless body.

"Why the hell did you sleep without a shirt,"

"I don't know," he shrugged.

She didn't know what happened but she suddenly was really close to him. She realized how close they actually were and Josh moved forward and closed the small gap between their lips. Her hands cupped his neck gently and then they broke apart when they heard a door open.

"Good morning!" Carly greeted. Josh grunted. "Someone's crabby,"

"No, someone's freezing their fucking balls off while another someone got to sleep in fucking luxury because my heated air mattress fucking exploded," he snapped, getting up with the blanket wrapped around him, "how's the hot tub in there huh? How's that big ass fucking heater in there?"

"Okay!" Jacelyn stepped in, "Someone needs to go back to bed,"

"No, someone needs to get laid," he said but only she could hear.

"Well, Drake and I are going into town to get some things, Josh,"

"What,"

"Go back to bed, and don't wake up til you're in a better mood,"

When they walked out the door, he went into the bathroom and brushed his teeth. After splashing water on his face he walked out of the bathroom and saw Jacelyn in the room. He leaned against the door frame and smirked.

"This isn't a dream is it," he asked, walking towards her.

"No," she smiled shyly.

"Well, I'm gonna go take a shower,"

She watched him walk out of the room and into the bathroom. She followed him shortly after, confused.

"Shower?"

"Yeah," he said, "you comin' in?"

"What?"

He opened the door, showing off his abs and he smirked.

"Hurry up before Carly comes back and makes a big deal," he said to her, "you scared?"

"No,"

"Then get in the shower,"

She glared at him and removed her sweatshirt. She pulled off her pants and finally the rest. When she stepped in, he kissed her right away, his hands roamed her soaking body. And it was then he realized why there were handles and bars in the shower.

"Wrap your arms around me," he said in a husky voice.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and he picked her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist. One hand grabbed a hold of the bar, he took a step forward, placing her back against the wall of the shower. He entered her in one slow thrust. She moaned in his ear. And just the sound made him groan. Soon, their breathing sped up and he looked at her, questioning. She nodded and kissed him. They both exploded into each other and she shuttered around him.

"Remind me again, this isn't a dream right?"

"It's not a dream,"

XX

After actually showering, he walked out of the bathroom, dressed and warm. He saw Jacelyn on the porch again. She was just looking at all the snow on the ground. He grabbed her camera and walked outside. Wrapping an arm around her, he kissed her and took a picture.

"What are you doing?" She asked him.

"Making a memory for myself,"

She turned around in his arms and just hugged him. She pushed herself away and walked off the porch to the snow.

"Let's make a snow man," she smiled at him.

He laughed and agreed.

They had decided to stop to catch their breath when they saw it. First they heard something that sounded like chopping. Josh looked around for the sound and grabbed Jacelyn's hand. She looked where he was looking and gasped. Josh covered her mouth with his hand and shushed her.

They saw a hooded figure, chopping up what looked like a bloody body. There were bags all around him, covered with blood. Each time the ax hit the body, they cringed. Blood was everywhere on the snow, it looked like a bright red blanket.

"What do we do?"  
"We wait," Josh whispered to her.

They hid behind a huge tree and waited quietly. Josh looked around the tree a little, grabbed Jacelyn's hand and ran through the snow.

"Josh,"

"Just run,"

After a few minutes, they took a break and looked around. They saw nothing, just red off in the distance.

"Okay, run to the cabin and grab my phone,"

"You want me to go by myself?" She asked him.

"Just go!"

Jacelyn ran for the cabin, tripping in the snow a few times and when she got there, she grabbed his phone. She rushed and ran right into Josh.

"Get inside," he said, frantic.

"What the fuck was that?"

"I don't know,"

"What are we gonna do if he finds the cabin," Jacelyn asked.

"I gotta call Drake,"

He grabbed his phone from her hand and called his brother. There was a lot of static and finally he answered.

"Hey,"

"Josh, I can barely hear you,"

"Be careful coming home," he said loudly.

"What?"

"Be care- I'll just text you,"

He ended the call and sent him a quick text. Jacelyn locked the door and then looked out the big window in the living room.

"We should put something over the windows," she said softly, "he might know where we are,"

"He already does,"

"What?"

"I saw him last night," he told her, "through the kitchen window,"

"Why didn't you tell me? Or anyone for that matter,"

"Because I thought it was nothing," he said, raising his voice.

"Don't you dare yell at me," she snapped back. She turned and stormed off to her room and slammed the door.

"This is why I didn't wanna tell you because I don't need you freaking out!"

He groaned and sat down on the couch, face in his hands. Suddenly, down the hall, he heard a girly groan. He walked down the hall and into Jacelyn's room and saw that she was trying to nail a sheet over her window. He chuckled a little bit.

"Need some help?"

"No, I'm perfectly fine," she snarked at him.

He rolled his eyes and in about a few seconds, her room was dark from the sheet being up.

"Thanks," she said, flatly.

"So, you're just gonna stay mad at me?"  
"I haven't decided yet,"

"Where have I head that before," he said as he walked out.

He decided to go back outside to smoke. He was looking around, just to make sure and saw nothing. He lit up and right as he did, Carly pulled up with Drake.

"Why are sheets in the windows?" Drake asked.

"I'll tell you inside,"

XX

"We have to call the police," Carly said to Josh.

"How long did it take for you to get to the nearest town?" He asked her.

"About an hour, maybe two,"

"Exactly," he said, "we're leaving in three days anyways,"

"No, Josh, Carly is right, we need to call someone,"

"And tell them what?" Josh asked Jacelyn, "Tell them that we saw someone chopping someone else up in the middle of the woods? Do you have any idea how big these woods are? By the time someone got out here, he could be gone,"

"Or he could still be here," Drake argued. "We're calling the cops,"

"Well I'm not talking to them,"

"For someone who used to be so good and so smart, you sure are acting like a dumb ass," Drake snapped at him.

"What did you say to me?"

"You heard me," Drake said to his brother, "you saw a possible murder,"

"And?" Josh asked.

Drake just shook his head.

"I'll talk to them," Jacelyn said.

"Fuck it," he said, walking back outside.

They all watched him leave and Jacelyn just rolled her eyes.

"Are you sure you saw what you say you saw?" Carly asked.

"Yes," Jacelyn said, "I can show you, it wasn't that far,"

She walked outside with the keys to the car and looked back at her friends.

"Well, lets go,"

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Josh asked her.

"We need to give them an exact location,"

"Jacey, you're not going,"

"Yes I am,"

Josh suddenly walked away. They heard him digging around and then saw him come right back out.

"Let's go," he said storming past them.

"What?" Jacelyn asked.

"Oh, shit," Carly said, "he grabbed my dad's gun,"

"What?" Jacelyn shouted, "Josh Nichols!"

XX

When the four got to the spot where they saw the hooded figure, the noticed that the snow had covered the tracks. Josh took a step closer, moved the snow around where he saw the bloody, chopped up, body, hoping to find blood but found nothing. There was absolutely no trace of anything. And he had no reason to be mad about it because he knew that the snow would have covered it eventually.

He looked around, carefully listening to his surroundings, and still saw nothing.

"So this is what you plan to show the cops?" Josh asked them. "How would they find anything?"

No one said anything.

"Snow is just like the rain," he said before he started walking back to the cabin.

"What" Drake asked quietly.

"It washes everything clean," Jacelyn answered.

They all followed Josh back to the cabin, and completely missed a white hooded figure, starring at them off in the distance.

XX

They made sure that the windows and doors were all locked up. Josh was getting the couch situated for the night while Carly and Drake went to the bedroom, door locked and all. There was an unsettling silence in the room. And for whatever reason, Josh kept looking at the front door, almost waiting. He had the gun right next to him just in case. He wasn't planning on sleeping that night. He had some coffee made and some stuff to do. He was crouched by the fire, smoking, when Jacelyn had come out of her room.

"Josh, it's 4 AM what are you doing awake?"

"Couldn't sleep,"

"Why don't you sleep in the bed and I'll take the couch,"

"No," he whispered. "I need to keep you safe,"

"Josh, just come to bed, we're all fine, _I'm _fine," she said, "I'm actually freezing in there,"

His tired eyes looked at her and smirked. He got up and put out the fire in the living room. He checked just to be sure that the door was all locked up along with the windows and walked into the room with Jacelyn. He collapsed on the bed and fell right to sleep.

XX

Jacelyn was sitting on the patio drinking coffee a few hours later. The door opened and Drake walked out.

"Mind if I join you?" He asked her.

"Not at all," she smiled at him.

"Look, uh, I wanna apologize,"

"For what?"

"Not telling you Josh was my brother," he said looking at her.

"It's okay," she smiled. "Besides, Josh and I are fine,"

"That's good," he said, taking a sip of his own coffee, "he still loves you, Jace, you know that right?"

"Yeah, I know,"

"Can I ask you something?" Drake asked.

"Sure,"

"Would you ever consider Josh again?"

And before she could answer, the door opened yet again and Josh was standing there with his cigarettes.

"Morning," he said.

"Hey, Josh, sorry about yesterday," Drake apologized to his brother.

"Yeah, me too,"

They gave each other a quick hug before Drake went back inside.

"Sleep good?" She asked him.

"Yeah,"

He sat down next to her and lit up. He then saw something off in the distance. He grabbed Jacelyn's hand and she looked too.

* * *

**Lemme know what you guys think xoxox3  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's chapter 2, sorry it's not longer like the first one..**

* * *

"Hey there," an older man said. He was wearing a thick, fur coat with a gold badge pinned to it.

"Can I help you with something?" Josh asked.

"I'm the Sheriff," he said, "Sheriff Rodgers,"

Jacelyn and Josh just looked at him, waiting for whatever it was that he needed to say to them.

"I need to ask a few questions, is anyone else here?"

"Jace, why don't you go get Drake and Carly, and tell them not to say anything," Josh whispered to her. She nodded and walked inside.

"What can I help you with?"

"I'd actually like to wait 'til you're friends come back,"

Josh nodded just as the front door opened. After they all gave the sheriff their names, he began speaking.

"Have you noticed anything weird going on?"

"Other than my brother's hygiene?" Drake asked sarcastically, "no,"

Carly smacked the back of her boyfriends head and rolled her eyes.

"How weird," Josh asked.

"Well a hiker was reported missing about three days ago, and he was hiking through this area,"

"We haven't seen anything," Josh said, "the snow has been up to our knees since we got here,"

"And who owns this?" He asked them.

"My parent's do," Carly said.

"You sure you haven't seen anything or anyone walking through here,"

"No,"

"I didn't see anything," Drake said.

"Yeah, we had been inside most of our stay," Carly said, before Drake could say anything more.

"No," Jacelyn said, "haven't seen anything,"

"See?" Josh asked, "nothing out of the ordinary here," Josh lied.

XX

"Why didn't you want us to say anything," Drake asked. "I swear, it's like I've become smarter and you've become dumber,"

"Look, Drake, if we had said something, we'd be here all fuckin' weekend and I don't want that," he said to his brother, "and besides, what Jace and I had seen, could have been anything. For all we know, he could have been a hunter,"

"You are the worst, you know that," Drake said.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, get a new line,"

"You know what Josh?" Drake asked his brother, walking up to him, "Ever since you started coming around again, you've been nothing but a dick. Quite frankly I've had enough of it and I'm tired of it,"

"Oh, really? At least I have a job unlike you,"

"Unlike me?"

"Yeah, you're nothing but a washed up musician because you decided to go with a manager who was all about the money, for drugs. I wouldn't be surprised if you're on coke too," he snarked at him.

"Josh," Carly scolded him.

"What, he sleeps all day," Josh said to him, "make sense to me,"

And in the blink of an eye, Josh was on his back with Drake on top of him, swinging away. It had happened so fast, Jacelyn and Carly had no idea how it happened or began. They both grabbed Drake and pulled him off of Josh. Carly pushed him back into the couch and glared at him. Josh got up from the ground and right away, Jacelyn stood in front of him.

"What the hell is the matter with you two?" Jacelyn shouted at them.

"You aren't in high school anymore," Carly said to them, remembering all the time they would fight.

Drake simply shook his head and walked into the room. Carly rolled her eyes and then glared at Josh.

"If we see that cop again, I'm telling him what you saw,"

XX

Josh was on the porch, yet again, kicking himself for saying that to his brother. He felt bad. And he knew that he shouldn't have said that to him. He couldn't remember the last time that he had disrespected him like that.

"Josh," Jacelyn called to him, "I have hot chocolate for you,"

"No thanks,"

"It as the little bunny marshmallows,"

He looked back at her and smiled.

"I like the bunnies,"

She sat down next to him and handed him a mug.

"I think you should apologize to Drake,"

"I know," he nodded. "He just makes me mad all the time, even in high school, he had to be the one who was always right."

"But he is right," Jacelyn said to him, getting a quick glare from Josh, "in this situation. Look, you know that we should be telling someone what we saw, even if we're wrong,"

"Jace,"

"You just don't wanna stay the extra days,"

"You're right, I don't," he said standing up and glaring down at her. "After I fucked up everything, I've been staying a few extra days everywhere!"

"Keep your voice down," Jacelyn snapped at him, standing up.

"You don't get to tell me what to do anymore,"

"Anymore?" She said to him, "If I could do that you wouldn't have been able to go to that party without me! But oh wait, I made the mistake of trusting you that night!"

"Oh, don't bring up that shit now, it's done and over with, get over it,"

Suddenly, Jacelyn lunged towards him. She didn't get very far either. Arms were wrapped around her waist from behind. Drake had stopped her.

"Let me go!"

"No are you crazy?" Drake asked, moving her to the door.

She glared at Josh one more time and walked in, slamming the door behind her.

"What is your problem?"

"Like you care," Josh snapped.

"If I didn't then I wouldn't have asked,"

"I'm going for a walk," he said turning his back towards his brother.

"Yeah, walk away. Don't bother to face any of your problems,"

"Like you're the best person to talk about that,"

"No I'm not the best person, but I do know that you need to talk to someone. And there isn't a problem asking for help either,"

"Oh like you did?" Josh asked before he turned back around to take a walk.

"You wanna know who Jacey came to after you fucked up?" Drake asked him, "She came to me,"

"Oh, what, you fuck her too?"

"What?" Drake, asked in shock, "no! I would never do anything to hurt or disrespect you in any way, shape, or form. You on the other hand seem to not have a problem with disrespecting people,"

Josh just shook his head and started to walk off again.

"Do you know why I'm not on tour anymore?" Drake asked his brother.

Josh stopped. He turned and faced his brother.

"No,"

"Wanna go for that walk?" Drake asked, stepping into the snow with him.

XX

"Why didn't you tell me?" Josh asked him.

"Well, when you made that comment, it didn't really seem to make a difference,"

"Still could have said something,"

"Well, last year, I don't know if my mom told you, but I had an overdose, and Carly threatened to leave me,"

"So you just stopped, just like that,"

"Yeah, pretty much. I went to a rehabilitation clinic in Utah for about three months and canceled all of my shows indefinitely,"

"Eight months clean?"

"Squeaky clean,"

"You drank last night," Josh smirked.

"I don't have a problem with alcohol," he said, "and if you noticed, I only had two beers," he told his brother, "now what's going on with you?"

Josh sat down on the same long he sat on with Jacelyn and sighed.

"I missed my Dad's funeral,"

"What happened?"

"I just couldn't do it," he said shaking his head. "We got into a fight when we first found out that he was sick and I told him I never wanted to see him again, because he was just giving up and didn't wanna try to fight it. I almost didn't graduate, and I had no one really. I'm surprised my mom even showed up to see me walk because she didn't talk to me for the longest time."

"So that's why Megan was so mad," Drake said, quietly.

"Huh?"

"Oh, Megan came to visit me in Utah, and she said that if I ever spoke to you to tell you that you're a selfish bastard," he smirked.

"You didn't go either?"

"I couldn't," Drake said to him, "and besides, Walter would have wanted me to get better,"

"Yeah,"

Suddenly, they heard a snap. Like someone stepped on a twig and broke it. They both looked around and stood up.

"Let's head back," Drake said.

"One step ahead of you,"

XX

When the got back and walked inside, Josh saw all his clothes in the living room on the floor. He sighed and rolled his eyes.

"What'd you do?" Carly asked.

"What don't I don't I do," he muttered picking up his clothes. "At least she didn't pour bleach on them this time,"

Suddenly, the bedroom door opened and Jacelyn came out into the kitchen.

"Hey, guys," she smiled, "ass hole,"

She poured herself some coco and added in some cinnamon and marshmallows. She stirred it all together and let the spoon clank against the ceramic mug. Josh threw his clothes on the couch, stormed over to her and grabbed the spoon from her.

"Stop it," he hissed at her, throwing it into the sink.

XX

Later that night, Josh was listening to his iPod, just keeping to himself when there was a knock on the door. He checked the time and it was pretty late, so he couldn't imagine who was at the door. He looked out the window and saw a cop from earlier.

"Evening," he said to him. "May I come in?"

"Yeah, sure," Josh said to them, "can I get you anything warm to drink?"

"Coffee is fine," he said, "where are you're friends?"

"Oh, they're all sleeping,"

"Well I wanted to inform all of you that two more hikers have gone missing,"

"Really?" Josh asked, handing over the cup.

"Yeah, so if you see anything, give the station a call,"

Josh said nothing. He just sat back down on the couch and sat in silence.

"You look like you've got something on your mind, son,"

"Yeah," he said to him, "look, I know I should have said something about this when you first came here but I honestly thought it was nothing.

"When we first got here, Jacey and I walked North of here to a spot my Dad used to take me when I was a kid. Well when we got there, there was blood all over the snow,"

"You said North of here," the cop asked, writing it down on a piece of paper.

"Yes, sir,"

"Anything else?"

"We _did_ see someone, but I couldn't see his face,"

"You're certain it was a male?"

"Yeah, I'm positive, broad shoulders," Josh said, "he was wearing one of those thick jackets with the fur on the hood,"

"And you didn't tell me this because..."

"I honestly thought it was a hunter,"

"You realize I could take you to jail for withholding information?"

"Yes, sir,"

"Is there anything else,"

Josh sighed, "Yeah," he got up and walked into the kitchen. "The first night I was here, I made sure everything was locked and when I came to this window, I noticed that same guy standing about three feet away from that shed,"

The cop looked out the window and nodded.

"Have you or anyone gone to that shed?"

"No,"

The cop wrote down a few notes and looked back at him.

"Now it was just you and your girl who saw this?"

"Yeah,"

"Well, tell your friends to be careful, and if you go out, bring some emergency supplies with you,"

"Yes, sir," Josh shook his hand.

"Thanks for the brew,"

Josh nodded. He locked the door after the cop left and he sighed. He turned and saw Jacelyn standing there in the hall way.

"You told him?"

"Yeah," he said. "Sorry I've been so mean,"

"Why have you been so mean," she asked, sitting down on the couch.

He joined her and sighed. "When my Dad got sick, he pretty much told me that he was ready to go and that he had given up,"

"Really?"

"Yeah, so how would you feel if you told your sick Father with cancer, that you never wanted to see them ever again,"

She looked at him with sad eyes and scooted closer to him.

"I've had a lot of guilt, pain, and a lot of fuckin' regret this year,"

"You're Father has already forgiven you,"

"Yeah, well not having you didn't help,"

She said nothing.

"But I did that to myself," he said to her.

"Josh," she started, "I know that I don't show it much, but I do forgive you. I mean it's not okay what you did, but I forgive you,"

XX

The next morning, Josh woke up on the couch. The smell of coffee shot though his nose like it was cocain. Jacelyn was sitting at the table with a sketch pad and the window open.

"It's freezing in here," he groaned as he sat up on the couch.

"Well, you decided to sleep in nothing but pants in the middle of winter,"

"I'm used to being able to do that whenever I want back home," he snarked. He smirked when he saw he roll her eyes, "Still sketch?"

"Never stopped,"

He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down next to her.

"Can I see?"

"Sure," she smiled.

She watched as he flipped through, starting from the beginning. As he started from there he saw sketches of himself that he never even knew happened. Him reading, on his laptop, driving in a car, sleeping, and outside smoking a cigarette.

There were some of Drake, playing his guitar and writing music on a napkin. Some of Carly with her ruby red tips in her hair.

"There's none of you," he stated, sliding her book back to her.

"Yeah, it's kinda hard to draw yourself when you don't know how to see," she said to him, "that was always my problem in my art class,"

"You don't know how to see yourself?"

"No,"

"Why not?"

"Josh,"

"What? I'm a major in physiology, when we get back, I start my life as a behavioral specialist, talk to me,"

"Really..."

"Yeah, and I know I sound like I'm full of shit because I'm still fucked up, but my mind is professionally trained to pin point the triggers that cause certain behaviors,"

"I don't know, I mean, I've never really been good at drawing myself,"

"Why?"

"I don't know, Josh," she said to him.

"You don't accept your flaws,"

"What?"

"You're flaws in your face," he said. "One eyebrow is slightly more arched than the other one. You only have one dimple,"

"Well, you're not so perfect yourself," she scoffed at him.

"No, I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but beauty is something that most women can't accept within themselves," he said. "Now, you draw yourself, the only person judging you is you. I'm gonna go take a shower,"

XX

Later that day, Josh was outside getting more firewood. It was just him outside so he was very alert. Suddenly he heard footsteps in the snow. They became louder, and louder, and louder.

"Need any help?" his brother asked.

"Jesus," Josh said, startled, "don't sneak up on me,"

"Sorry," he smirked. "So I heard you psycho analyzed Jace,"

"Something like that,"

"Can you do me?"

He chuckled.

"Alright, uh, how was touring when you first started?"

"Crazy, it was fun, but it was super crazy,"

"Right," he said, "were you stressed?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that,"

"Did you start doing anything to help relieve that?"

"I took up smoking," Drake said.

"You crack under stress," Josh said. "I assume the stress got so bad the smoking fucked up your throat and prevented you from performing properly,"

"Yeah, actually, I had a doctor tell me that I had to quit,"  
"And the drugs were a way to handle your stress without ruining your voice," he said, "because without your voice, you aren't Drake Parker,"

"Well-"

"You're money hungry too, you not being on tour is getting to you, that's why your hands twitch like you have Parkinson's, you should get that checked out,"

"And Carly?" Drake asked.

"Likes to be in control. She has to have everything a certain way or she explodes. Except this time. It's a vacation, so she doesn't have to have an order for anything, but once she gets back home, you'll be on your medication, and back on your healthy diet,"

"What about you?"

"Me? I need to come to terms with myself before I can actually be happy," Josh said, "I like to try to control things with my anger and I also like to make people feel sorry for me because I fucked things up with my family. But I don't tell people that. I put the blame on everyone else but me,"

"Very good," Drake smirked.

Off in the distance, was the hooded figure watching them. It seemed like everytime he was around, he was getting closer and closer to the cabin.

XX

When they were walking back, Drake had the feeling that someone was following them. He kept looking behind him but saw nothing.

"What's wrong?" Josh asked.

"Nothing," he said, "just have a weird feeling,"

"Calm- whoa!"

Suddenly, Josh had his feet pulled out from under him and he was hanging upside down from a branch.

"Josh, are you okay?" Drake asked, panicked.

"Oh, yeah, just hanging out," Josh said, sarcastically.

"You don't have to be mean,"

"Oh, just go get something to cut me down!"

Josh watched, upside down, his brother stumble back to the cabin. They weren't that far away so it didn't take him that long to come back with two extra. Jacelyn and Carly started laughing right when they saw him too.

"Yeah it's so damn funny isn't it?" Josh shouted in frustration.

Jacelyn got on her knees so that she was eye level with him.

"What happened?" She giggled out.

"Just get me down," he said.

"Carly you grab one arm, I'll get the other,"

The girls managed to hold Josh in a way that he wasn't fully upside down anymore. Josh was at such an angle that when the rope was cut, he would be able to land somewhat on his feet. And that's exactly what happened after Drake cut the rope.

Josh stood up and looked at the tree that he was hanging from. He shook his head and then saw something with fur close by. He started backing up in the snow and bumped into Drake. He looked at his brother and then at whatever he was looking at.

Suddenly, a deep growl came from within the trees. The girls stopped chattering and looked too.

Three white wolves had pounced through the trees ready to attack.


End file.
